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A review by hissingpotatoes
The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
3.5
I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I love the atmosphere of this book. It's especially prevalent in the chapters told from Bao's point of view, which are written in present tense. His slow journey pursuing investigations leads him to follow in Snow's wake, piecing together her past path as we discover where she's going from the alternate chapters in her point of view. Throughout it all is the pervading mystery of fox lore, how it morphs and impacts people of varying beliefs, and how it compares to the reality of being a fox in this world. Through beautiful prose, the characters navigate their personal goals against the backdrop of a culturally and politically changing China and Japan.
Snow's intensity of purpose for the first half of the book disappears in a way that the book tries to say was gradual but felt sudden, thematically leaving the reader off-balance.
The title should really be The Fox Lady/Woman, because Snow's role as a wife plays almost no part in the book. The suppression of backstory between the foxes until near the end felt artificial (especially since it was easy to figure out) and didn't have the impact I suspect it was supposed to.
The book's real strength is Snow's and Bao's narratives winding around each other and eventually combining. Bao and Tagtaa's relationship interested and satisfied me the most. If you like slower, atmospheric magical realism with strong emotions, this one's for you.
You might like this if you like: Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon, Serpentine by Cindy Pon, Circe by Madeline Miller, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
I love the atmosphere of this book. It's especially prevalent in the chapters told from Bao's point of view, which are written in present tense. His slow journey pursuing investigations leads him to follow in Snow's wake, piecing together her past path as we discover where she's going from the alternate chapters in her point of view. Throughout it all is the pervading mystery of fox lore, how it morphs and impacts people of varying beliefs, and how it compares to the reality of being a fox in this world. Through beautiful prose, the characters navigate their personal goals against the backdrop of a culturally and politically changing China and Japan.
Snow's intensity of purpose for the first half of the book disappears in a way that the book tries to say was gradual but felt sudden, thematically leaving the reader off-balance.
The title should really be The Fox Lady/Woman, because Snow's role as a wife plays almost no part in the book. The suppression of backstory between the foxes until near the end felt artificial (especially since it was easy to figure out) and didn't have the impact I suspect it was supposed to.
The book's real strength is Snow's and Bao's narratives winding around each other and eventually combining. Bao and Tagtaa's relationship interested and satisfied me the most. If you like slower, atmospheric magical realism with strong emotions, this one's for you.
You might like this if you like: Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon, Serpentine by Cindy Pon, Circe by Madeline Miller, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke